Improvement in pianos



'UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

VILLIAM NORDHOFF, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO WM. KNABE 85 CO., OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PIANOS.

Specification forming part of LettersPatent No. 57,257, dated August 14, 1866.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM NoRDEIoEE, of Baltimore, in the county ot' Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful lmprovem ents in Piano-Fortes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specifica-tion, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use the invention, I will proceed to describe it.

Figure 1 is a topplan View of the frame of a piano with my improvement applied there to. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section ot' the same, taken on the line x x of Fig'. 1.

It has long been known to the manufacturers of this class ot' instruments that the tone et' the strings would be rendered far more pleasing if the agraife could' be secured to a plate ot brass instead of iron; but there are two difficulties to overcome in doing this: First, a frame made entirely of brass is not only much more expensive, but is also too weak to stand the necessary strain upon the strin Second, when a separate brass plate is used in connection with an iron frame it has been found almost or quite impossible by the methods heretofore used to so attach the brass plate to the wrest-plank as to render it secure, and at the same time prevent the vibration and rattle that was sure to follow between the iron and brass plates, whereby the tone or" the instrument was greatly injured.

To overcome these dificulties is the object of my present invention, and the manner in which I accomplish it is as follows: I construct the wrest-plank G in the usual manner. I then form a brass plate, B, of the required size and form to tit the front of lthe wrestplank, as shown in Fig. 1. This brass plate B is cast or otherwise made with two Iianges standing at a rightangle to each other, as shown in the cross-section, Fig. 2, one flange being let into the front edge of the plank G, while the horizontal Ilan ge is fitted into a recess cut for it in the top of the plank, as

shown clearly in Fig. 2, it being secured to the plank C by screws o passing through the vertical ange into the plank, while another series of screws, n, are inserted through the horizontal ijange into the wood, as shown. The agrattcs c are secured, in any suitable manner, to the upper front edge of this brass plate B, as shown in Fig. 2, the agrattes being either cast with the plate B or formed separately and then screwed into it, as may be preferred.

A represents the iron frame, to which the strings are secured in the usual manner. This frame is constructed with the bridge a upon its upper front surface, as shown, and is secured to the top of the wrestplank C in such a manner as to cause its front portion to lap over and rest upon the brass plate B, as shown in Fig. 2. A series et' screws, b, are inserted through its front edge, and, passing also through the brass plate B, enter the wood C, as shown, thereby uniting them all firmly together.

The string t is attached to the pin l) in the .usual manner, and passes thence over the bridge a, through the agratt'e c, and across to the opposite end ot' the frame. It will be seen that any strain applied to the string t will tend to press down on the iron frame A, and at the same time will lift or pull upward on the plate B, whereby the two will be pressed and held together by the strain of the strings in a most pert'eet manner.

By this method of constructing and uniting the parts I am enabled to entirely obviate the difficulties heretofore mentioned and greatly improve the instrument.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is The plate B, secured to the wrest-plate O, in combination with the frame A, when said parts are constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose herein set fort-h.

IVM. NOBDHOFF.

Witnesses G. H. DEYDEN, E. KNAEE. 

